Dön-pa in Tibetan means chant or liturgical recitation the repetition of texts and practices. This can be performed almost as a monotone or with melody, according to tradition. With dön-pa the words are important and we are paying attention to the words whilst we are chanting them. There are two types of dön-pa: Sutric and Tantric. In Sutric dön-pa it is the meaning of the words which is the focus. In Tantric dön-pa the words are used as a guide to visualisation. The melody is employed in order to give power to the words to animate them.

Pema jung-né shé-su dragLotus born thus whoYou are the lotus-bornThus self-liberation is effortless and spontaneous

Khordu khandro mangpo khorCircle khandro many surroundedSurrounded by a kyil’khor of khandros (sky dancers)Cyclic existence, our natural experience displayed as the elements, spontaneously teach us – we are self-taught in the process of our experience.